Up In Flames
by Stills and Photographs
Summary: One miscommunication between Bloom and Riven extinguished the spark that could have lit the universe on fire. Could the flames ever catch again?
1. Playing Hard to Get

**Up In Flames**

**Summary:** One miscommunication between Bloom and Riven extinguished the spark that could have lit the universe on fire. Could the flames ever catch again?

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Winx Club.

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**Author's Note:** Set during season one, The Day of the Rose. The dialogue in the beginning is transcribed exactly from the 4kids version. Prince Sky and Brandon are still switching identities at this point (so Sky is brunette and Brandon is blonde).

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**Playing Hard to Get**

"I'll be rooting for you, Brandon," Bloom said shyly.

"So who's going to be rooting for you, Riven?" Sky asked with a smirk. "Bloom's rooting for Brandon, Stella's rooting for me. Where's your cheerleader?"

Riven spun on the brunette prince. "I don't need one, dude, unlike you."

"Relax, Riven," Brandon piped up.

But Riven didn't relax. "Trust me, if I actually wanted one of these Alfea pixies, I could have my pick of the whole litter and both of you know it!" he boasted forcefully.

The blonde squire sighed. "This is dumb."

"In fact, a certain someone's been giving me the eye," he went on, a mischievous sneer on his face. "Isn't that right, Bloom?"

The fairy looked mortified, and snapped back quickly. "What?! The only 'eye' I'd give you is _I don't think so_."

"Right."

"What is with you?" she demanded. "Hey, I think I know who I like, and trust me, I don't go for the whole jerk thing. I still can't figure out why Musa's got a crush on you. You're a totally conceited, totally cocky, totally boring waste of good oxygen. I'm sorry, but guys like you give guys a bad name, Riven."

The boy turned her face up to his with a finger under her chin. "You are really cute when you're angry, you know that?"

Brandon made a noise like and angry dog.

"I dig girls that play hard-to-get."

Bloom's hands curled into fists and she pushed out of his grasp. He liked playing hard to get, did he? "Don't you touch me!" she shouted. "You know what, you need to just cool down, Riven." In a remarkably adept display of her fledgling powers, Bloom levitated a vase of roses and dumped icy water on the specialist's head.

"Looks like someone wet his pants," Sky said as Stella shrieked with laughter.

"Still think I'm cute when I'm angry?" Bloom teased.

"I'm so gonna make you pay for that, Bloom," Riven spat vengefully.

She looked sheepish, glancing over her shoulder at the laughing faces of her friends. "We were just kidding, weren't we? Riven, I thought—"

"Get away!" he snapped.

Brandon ran forward, putting a hand on Riven's shoulder. "Come on, she—"

"Hands off, Brandon! I'm getting out of here." He stormed away, his magenta hair askew.

Bloom stared bleakly after him, looking horrified at herself.

"Puh-lease," Stella remarked unsympathetically. "He had it coming."

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Things only went from bad to worse. The witches had gotten involved. Bloom's apology looked like sabotage. Only Darcy's manipulative plan had saved Riven from getting seriously hurt when he crashed. Now he was following her around like a lovestruck puppy, and if he never spoke to the red-headed girl again, it would be too soon.

"It isn't fair, Stell," she groaned, flopping beside the princess on her big, orange bed. "I didn't mean a word I said earlier. I was just trying to be, I don't know, cool. It's just like he said, I was playing hard to get."

Stella sat up dramatically. "So you _were_ flirting? Bloom, you have got to be the worst flirt I have ever met. You came off mega-harsh. And with Riven? Ugh. I thought you liked Brandon! You hardly took your eyes off of him all day."

"I _do_ like Brandon," she admitted. "A lot, actually. He's so sweet, and he's such a good guy! Sincere and honest and everything I could ask for in a guy. But Riven is so mysterious. I know there's something special behind that tough mask of his. He's the typical bad boy that all the girls want, you know what I mean?"

"No, not at all."

"Must be an Earth thing," Bloom conceded. Silence fell, and she wailed into Stella's pillow. "He'll never speak to me again!"

The blonde tossed her head. "Who cares? You said it yourself, he's a jerk. You're probably just feeling guilty because you're kinda responsible for his crash. Give it a few days, it'll pass. Besides, Brandon likes you, so go for it! You don't want to miss an opportunity like that."

Bloom nodded, if a bit forlornly.

"Just promise me, _promise me_, you won't play hard to get with Brandon. Promise me, Bloom."

The red-head giggled. "I promise."

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Riven was hogging the bathroom, shaving in the mirror before his date with Darcy. Sky leaned against the door, trying to reason with him. "She really didn't mean it, dude! She was just joking – honestly, she felt awful when she realized you took it personally. And the helmet was from the witches – from Darcy! The race officials found traces of witch magic on it. Don't be a jack—"

"Shut it!" Riven barked. "First of all, stop trying to blame Darcy for everything! It wasn't her fault. Why would bother to save me if she was the one who sabotaged me? Second, it wasn't witch magic, it was dark magic. Dark magic left behind by a dark spell that any magical creature could have cast. I can take a hint, Sky. As if what she said wasn't enough of one, the whole trying-to-kill-me thing made it abundantly clear that she hates my guts."

"If you would just talk to her..." the prince insisted.

"I'll leave her alone, thanks. My pride doesn't need another public beating. Besides, I don't even care. I love Darcy!"

Riven shouldered Sky out of the door and left the room. He passed Brandon, who was on his way in. "She's all yours," he spat, and stormed out.

Sky look at his blond squire. "Drama queen," he said, rolling his eyes.

**To be continued...**


	2. Spontaneous Combustion

**Shout Outs: Rusty Halos**, **Darev** and **firesspawn**.

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**Author's Notes:** Set about six months after Bloom's graduation from Alfea. Follows canon from seasons 1-3, but not the movie. There's some controversy over whether Musa is actually a princess or not according to the 4kids dub – for this story, she is.

Additional notes can be found on my homepage, StillsAndPhotographs(dot)webs(dot)com.

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**Spontaneous Combustion**

_Knock, knock, knock._

Bloom answered the door and was pleasantly surprised. "Riven!" she said warmly, sliding off the security chain and giving the former specialist a friendly, one-armed hug. "How are you doing? I heard you were doing special ops on Eraklyon. What brings you here?"

He shrugged out of his jacket and hung it up on a peg beside the door. He looked around at Bloom's tiny downtown Magix apartment. It was small, perhaps, and a bit old-fashioned, but it was bright and clean, and in a good part of town. The fairy was proud to finally have a space she could call hers.

Declining Bloom's offer of something to drink, Riven took a seat on the blue sofa in the cozy living room. Bloom sat in the armchair across from him. Four years of adventures together and dating each others' best friends had granted the pair an amicable, if not particularly close, friendship. She was happy to see him for the first time since graduation half a year prior, but was curious as to why he had suddenly decided to drop in.

"It's a holiday in Eraklyon," Riven answered when they had both settled in. "Saladin asked me to come down and talk to the third years about careers outside of Red Fountain. I just happened to be in the neighborhood when Brandon called me with the news."

"I was Stella's first call," Bloom bragged. "I'm her Maid of Honor."

He smirked. "Personally, I think it's about time."

Bloom laughed and agreed. "I think we all knew way back in freshman year. When Stella found out he wasn't a prince and didn't break up with him for lying to her, we knew there was something special. Everything they made it through after that just confirmed it."

"Speaking of princes," Riven began hesitantly, and the fairy realized Brandon's proposal was not the only reason he had come. "I heard about you and Sky. How are you holding up?"

She shrugged, trying to keep her face indifferent. "We dated for more than four years. We gave it everything, but I guess in the end we just weren't meant to be. There was so much pressure from his parents and the media that if we didn't end it when we did, it was only a matter of a time before we spontaneously combust. I grew up on Earth - I had _no idea_ about the politics involved. He's engaged to Diaspro, again, and they seem happy together. She'll make a better queen than I would."

Bloom's voice was a swirl of bitterness, resentment and resignation. She simply wasn't capable of ruling such a powerful realm, she had accepted that fact. Did that stop her from wishing she could change and spend the rest of her life with her first real love? Not even a little bit.

"Diaspro wasn't a recent affair, you know. Sky's parents have been pushing him to reinstate the engagement for years. They didn't expect you two to last so long," Riven admitted.

"Stella and Brandon are lucky, but marrying your high school sweetheart is a rare phenomenon," Bloom sighed.

"What I mean is, don't think he chose her over you. It's not like that."

"If you say so," Bloom said indifferently, brooding.

"I guess Musa and I had the same problems. I could _never _be a king." He added gravely, "You may not have noticed, but I have a real problem with authority."

Riven paused seriously after his confession, and Bloom burst into giggles – as if it was possible _not_ to notice his aversion to authority.

"I guess we normal people aren't meant to be with royalty," he smiled.

She scoffed playfully. "Normal? I'm the princess of Sparx! Speak for yourself, why don't you?"

Riven cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, you're an _obvious_ choice for royalty: moody and stubborn, with a tendency to attack first and ask questions later. Not to mention," he dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "you were raised on Earth, and your supposed kingdom is a _dead planet_."

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!" Bloom snapped. "Moody, stubborn, solves problems with force? You just described yourself!"

"Well you're no angel, either."

"At least I'm not a street rat!"

"Damn right, you're not! A street rat would actually know how to handle herself – not rely on her eleven closest friends for every fucking thing!"

Bloom raged, and Riven fumed, and just when it looked like one of them wouldn't leave the apartment alive, Bloom dropped her eyes to the floor. She looked ashamed of herself. "Didn't this whole mess start out as a joke?"

Riven wouldn't look at her. "I guess it did."

"Why do we always end up fighting?" she asked. "It's like we're freshman again, at each others' throats on the Day of the Rose. I was joking then, too."

"You come off too harshly."

"You take everything so damn personally, it's impossible _not_ to come off as harsh!"

There was silence. "It's getting late. I should go."

The clock on the wall read 8:17. "Riven, you don't have to leave," Bloom muttered. "It's not a big deal."

"No, I have an early start tomorrow," he said, getting his jacket.

"Well, maybe you _should_ go, then." Bloom picked up the remote and turned on the television, refusing to watch him pull on the coat. "I'm glad you dropped in," she spat angrily. "We'll have to do this again sometime!"

He closed the door behind him with a dull_ thud_.

The red-head curled up in her armchair, staring blankly at the television. Every few seconds she glanced over her shoulder to see if the magenta-haired boy was back, either apologizing himself or demanding one from her, she didn't care. She stared hard at the door, trying to will him to walk through it, telling herself the roaring sound she heard through the window wasn't his motorcycle speeding away.

She waited in vain. He was too proud to return, and as she was too proud to chase him.

**The End.**


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